Registration of retinal images from Public Health by minimising an error between vessels using an affine model with radial distortions

In order to estimate a registration model of eye fundus images made of an affinity and two radial distortions, we introduce an estimation criterion based on an error between the vessels. In [1], we estimated this model by minimising the error between characteristics points. In this paper, the detected vessels are selected using the circle and ellipse equations of the overlap area boundaries deduced from our model. Our method successfully registers 96 % of the 271 pairs in a Public Health dataset acquired mostly with different cameras. This is better than our previous method [1] and better than three other state-of-the-art methods. On a publicly available dataset, ours still better register the images than the reference method

'It's Almost Like Talking to a Person': Student Disclosure to Pedagogical Agents in Sensitive Setting

Online chatbots (also known as pedagogical agents or virtual assistants) are becoming embedded into the fabric of technology, both in educational and commercial settings. Yet understanding of these technologies is inchoate and often untheorised, influenced by individuals’ willingness to trust technologies, aesthetic appearance of the chatbot and technical literacy, among other factors. This paper draws upon data from two research studies that evaluated students’ experiences of using pedagogical agents in education using responsive evaluation. The findings suggest that emotional connections with pedagogical agents were intrinsic to the user’s sense of trust and therefore likely to affect levels of truthfulness and engagement. They also indicate that the topic of the pedagogical agent-student interaction is key to the student’s experience. The implications of these studies are that truthfulness, personalisation and emotional engagement are all vital components in using pedagogical agents to enhance online learning

Self-Regulation and Sensory Processing Education Program for Educators

Children with low self-regulation skills may face many challenges in the classroom environment that can impact their performance in school-based activities. As teachers play a vital role in the development of young children, this educational program aims to improve teacher competence (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) in applying sensory processing and self-regulating concepts to the school environment.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2024/1034/thumbnail.jp

Large Differences in Small RNA Composition Between Human Biofluids.

Extracellular microRNAs (miRNAs) and other small RNAs are implicated in cellular communication and may be useful as disease biomarkers. We systematically compared small RNAs in 12 human biofluid types using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). miRNAs and tRNA-derived RNAs (tDRs) accounted for the majority of mapped reads in all biofluids, but the ratio of miRNA to tDR reads varied from 72 in plasma to 0.004 in bile. miRNA levels were highly correlated across all biofluids, but levels of some miRNAs differed markedly between biofluids. tDR populations differed extensively between biofluids. Y RNA fragments were seen in all biofluids and accounted for >10% of reads in blood plasma, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Reads mapping exclusively to Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) were very rare, except in seminal plasma. These results demonstrate extensive differences in small RNAs between human biofluids and provide a useful resource for investigating extracellular RNA biology and developing biomarkers

New Spirometry Indices for Detecting Mild Airflow Obstruction.

The diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) relies on demonstration of airflow obstruction. Traditional spirometric indices miss a number of subjects with respiratory symptoms or structural lung disease on imaging. We hypothesized that utilizing all data points on the expiratory spirometry curves to assess their shape will improve detection of mild airflow obstruction and structural lung disease. We analyzed spirometry data of 8307 participants enrolled in the COPDGene study, and derived metrics of airflow obstruction based on the shape on the volume-time (Parameter D), and flow-volume curves (Transition Point and Transition Distance). We tested associations of these parameters with CT measures of lung disease, respiratory morbidity, and mortality using regression analyses. There were significant correlations between FEV1/FVC with Parameter D (r = -0.83; p < 0.001), Transition Point (r = 0.69; p < 0.001), and Transition Distance (r = 0.50; p < 0.001). All metrics had significant associations with emphysema, small airway disease, dyspnea, and respiratory-quality of life (p < 0.001). The highest quartile for Parameter D was independently associated with all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 3.22,95% CI 2.42-4.27; p < 0.001) but a substantial number of participants in the highest quartile were categorized as GOLD 0 and 1 by traditional criteria (1.8% and 33.7%). Parameter D identified an additional 9.5% of participants with mild or non-recognized disease as abnormal with greater burden of structural lung disease compared with controls. The data points on the flow-volume and volume-time curves can be used to derive indices of airflow obstruction that identify additional subjects with disease who are deemed to be normal by traditional criteria

Season-wise length-weight relationship and relative condition factor of Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton, 1822) at Narmada estuary, Gujarat, India

635-638Length-weight relationship and relative condition factor of T. ilisha was conducted for one year (2014-15) at Narmada estuary, Gujarat, India. Fish samples were collected from Bharuch, Bhadbhut, Mehgam and Ambetha landing sites covering 72 km of estuarine stretch. Two distinct fishing seasons were observed at Narmada estuary, viz., June-October and January-March, though the bulk of the harvest comes from monsoon season. A total of 312 fish samples were collected, 270 during monsoon and 42 during the winter season. The mean length and weight were recorded 35.37±11.36 cm and 625.83±39.81 g during monsoon and 36.84±3.82 cm and 537.44 ± 17.45 g during the winter season. The ‘b’ value was found to be 3.07 and 2.76 and relative condition factor was 1.02 and 1.01 during monsoon and winter seasons, respectively

Finding hidden knowledge in WASH: effective methods for exploring the needs of perimenopausal women in Ghana

As increased urbanisation brings the challenges of providing sustainable and equitable WASH provision for all, a globally ageing population will bring more women in low income countries passing through the perimenopause, the transition to menopause , with various hidden WASH needs. A lack of knowledge upon these needs also means that effective methods to work with perimenopausal women are not well established. Drawing on field experiences from Accra and Kumasi in Ghana, this paper reflects upon the methodological lessons learned in researching the WASH needs of perimenopausal women in two low income communities. An effective methodology to explore perimenopausal women’s WASH needs encourages participation and engagement with the topic through use of appropriate tools , and effective community mobilisation. A collaboration of different people in a team, group reflection and adaptation of tools which consider practical aspects and local cultural values are needed to understand such needs